OWN YOUR PRIORITIES

Hey there, Uncommon. I have had some thoughts swimming around in my head about priorities so I thought I’d share them with you. For some of you reading this, I’m preaching to the choir. You have made your health a priority by deciding that eating well, getting enough sleep, and going to the gym at least a few times per week is just a part of your life. If you have a healthy, well-balanced life, then maybe you can use this article as a tool to help someone else in your life.

First of all, I want to start by saying that this is the Planet Fitness of blog posts. We give out free pizza and bagels every month! Uhhhh… I mean it’s a 100% judgement-free zone. Right. Judgement-free zone. Not pizza and bagels. Sorry. I have not lived for one second in your shoes so I will not attempt to say what should and should not be a priority for you. However, if you have certain health and fitness goals or you are not happy with your current state, I do feel somewhat qualified (along with our other coaches) to offer suggestions as to how you can achieve those goals. This would also be a good time to remind everybody that our passion for coaching is entirely based around wanting to help you. We want what is best for you. We get fired up every day to be at Uncommon because we want to make you happier and healthier people. It is this passion that causes me to become frustrated at times. So if you ever sense frustration from me, know that it is because I care and I want to help.

Clearly, as a CrossFit coach, I firmly believe that when you are eating well, training hard, getting enough sleep, and doing things that bring you joy you will be darn close to the best possible version of yourself. So of course if I personally wrote your list of priorities it would include stuff like: 1. Spend quality time with people who bring you joy. 2. Sleep at least 7 hours per night. 3. Drink water and eat real, whole foods. Occasionally treat yourself. 4. Exercise your face off 3-6 times per week. That wouldn’t be the whole list but you get the point. The things I would put at the top of the list are things that make you a happier and healthier human.

Most of you might read that list and say something deeply profound like, “Duh?” While almost everybody would look at that list and agree that those are very important things, how much time do we actually devote towards them? I don’t often like to think of things as this cut and dried but if you really think about what you spend most of your time doing, those are your priorities. Period. If you are given the option between going to the gym after work and going out for drinks with friends, whichever one you choose is what you have decided is the priority in that moment. You could get to the gym but you are working longer hours and if you got up for the morning class you would only get like 4 hours of sleep. You just had a date night where you “cheated” on your nutrition and a couple days later a coworker brings in donuts. It’s incredibly simple. Whether you choose to work longer or make time for the gym, whether you enjoy a donut or stick to your plan, that was your priority at the time. Now go back to my Planet Fitness statement. Not the pizza and bagels. They’re gone. There are no pizza and bagels. So just stop it already! Jeez! The part about being a judgement-free zone. If, in that instance, you choose to go out with friends for drinks, work late, or eat a donut, THAT IS FINE. Again, it is all about what you have decided is most important in your life. HOWEVER, if you are not happy with the way things are going, now it’s time to rethink those priorities.

The problem for some of you might actually be that you don’t even think about the choices you make. You might be so used to getting drinks when you go out for dinner, skipping a workout to work longer hours/go straight home, or getting fast food instead of meal-prepping, that you don’t even consider other options. I won’t use this blog post to go into specific decisions that people could make differently. Maybe I’ll save that for another one.

I honestly, MOSTLY, do not blame you, the individual. Our society has drilled the message into our heads that more is better. Busier is better (read Marc’s blog post about busy being a choice HERE). Saying you are busy and tired is worn like a badge of honor. People want bigger houses, nicer cars, better vacations, the new Iphone, etc. Even if you are one of the growing numbers of people ditching cable, you still get bombarded with ads constantly. There is so much freaking noise out there. Everybody wants your attention. If you are not deliberate with how you spend your time and money you will almost certainly allow yourself to get pulled in every direction by things that don’t truly matter or make you happier long-term.

So here is what I want you to do. Set aside some time. Any time of the day works. Make it quiet. If you have a significant other, make it with them if you choose. But if you are not happy with your current state of being, check your priorities. Don’t just check them, OWN THEM. Even if you don’t know what your next step would be, at least you will have a direction. If your direction happens to deal with nutrition or physical/emotional fitness, well hot dang you’re in luck. We can help with that. But you have to have a direction first. Think about your priorities, choose them, and OWN THEM.